Preproduction

As one of the first states to offer tax incentives to attract film and television projects, Louisiana has grown into a major production center. Known as “Hollywood South,” the Bayou State is third most popular filming destination in the U.S. after California and New York after growing quickly over the past decade. Boasting one of the finest infrastructures to support film and video production, Louisiana took center stage when The Curious Case of Benjamin Button won three Oscars out of its thirteen nominations in 2009. This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated two Louisiana films for Best Picture: Beasts of the Southern Wild and Django Unchained.

After a lackluster 2012/13 television season that was sparse on new hits, the broadcast networks have increased the number of pilots ordered in hopes of striking gold. According to a report filed by Nellie Andreeva of Deadline.com, ABC, CBS, the CW, Fox and NBC have a combined order of 98 pilots, including straight-to-series orders, making for a 14-percent increase over last season.

It’s time to get your movie greenlit. You have a polished screenplay and you’ve just sat down with the gatekeepers: studio execs. The opening of their big gate can lead to big audiences and bigger rewards. You want them to go forward with the movie — your movie — and all eyes are on you. You’re tense and fear the one wrong remark that will sabotage the meeting. This is crunch time.

In the past, NBC’s peacock network ruled the roost. But in the new age of cable programming and DVRs, the network’s struggle has been the focus of Robert Greenblatt’s two years as chairman of NBC Entertainment. During the last NBC executive session at the Television Critics Association panel in Pasadena, Calif., Greenblatt gave an honest report on the state of the network. “What a difference a year makes,” he stated, noting that 2011’s fall season was bad.

Griffith Park, Point Dume, the 6th Street Bridge near downtown L.A. and a former community hospital in Boyle Heights reputed to be haunted ranked among the most popular film locations in 2012, according to a new survey.

Eight of the top 10 sites for shoots of movies, TV shows, commercials and music videos on city and county streets are publicly owned, the annual survey conducted for the Los Angeles Times by FilmL.A. Inc. found.

"We continue to see a considerable amount of filming that happens on government-owned properties or facilities, from beaches and parks, to public schools and libraries," said Phil Sokoloski, spokesman for FilmL.A., which handles film permits. "The list underscores the importance of having a good working relationship between the film industry and local government authorities."Griffith Park was again the busiest site for location filming last year. The most popular canyon area, known as the Bird Sanctuary, generated 409 production days — 63 more than in 2011 — including shoots for the TV crime dramas "Southland" and "Sons of Anarchy." (One production day is defined as a crew's permission to film at a single location in a 24-hour period.)

Spanning more than 4,210 acres between the hills of Los Feliz and Burbank, the city-owned park has been a perennial favorite for location scouts because of its cedar grove, mountain roads and iconic observatory, famously portrayed in the James Dean classic "Rebel Without a Cause."